Ray Meyer

ARTICLES ABOUT RAY MEYER BY DATE - PAGE 2

Ed Sherman's list of top 10 Chicago sporting events was arrogant, since he obviously ignored every event he didn't see; ignorant, since he ignored every event before 1971, and cruel, since he ignored all Cubs and Hawks winning events. A more fitting list: - 1963 Loyola Ramblers' NCAA championship - 1906 White Sox World Series over the Cubs - 1876 Cubs' championship, the first ever in professional sports - 1940, 1963, and all the other Bears championships - The George Mikan years with Ray Meyer - Jay Berwanger winning the first Heisman with the U. of Chicago - 1970 Northwestern's championship with Mike Adamle - 1932 and 1962 Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks - All the Western Open tournaments in Chicago - All the LaSalle Bank marathons - All the Mackinac sailboat races - The invention of 16-inch softball in Chicago A history book might be worth reading before attempting to comment on history.

Jim Molinari drives to work every day without knowing where he will be in a few months. After almost three decades in coaching, he knows the drill. "I love the Big Ten, I grew up loving the Big Ten and my whole focus is to try to get Minnesota as a consistent Big Ten team that can compete consistently," says Molinari, a longtime fixture in Illinois basketball circles who became a Minnesota assistant in 2004. He took over as interim coach after Don Monson resigned Nov. 30 in the wake of a five-game losing streak that left the Gophers 2-5 in his eighth season.

DePaul unveiled special patches Tuesday honoring Ray Meyer and Maggie Dixon that will adorn uniforms of the men's and women's basketball teams during the 2006-07 season. The red, white and blue patches will differ slightly for the men's and women's teams. The men's team will feature a basketball-shaped patch attached to the left shoulder strap on newly designed uniforms that resemble those late in the tenure of the legendary coach. Divided into thirds, the top portion has the number 42, for the amount of seasons Meyer, who died in March at 92, coached at DePaul, the middle section reads "Coach" and the bottom third displays the number 724, signifying Meyer's victory total.

Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter takes the mound Saturday at Wrigley Field for the first time since his shouting match with Dusty Baker in September outside the Cubs dugout. To review, Baker had asked Carpenter "What are you looking at?" after he thought Carpenter was staring at Matt Murton after striking him out. Carpenter came over to the dugout and said: "If you have something to say to me, then, you know, come to the mound." Baker then cursed at Carpenter before umpires quickly intervened.

The recent coverage of Ray Meyer's passing reminded me of my own warm experience with him. My company was hosting a senior citizen fair a few years ago, at which Coach was to be a speaker. When he arrived, the person in charge of entertainment was nowhere to be found. While a co-worker went to find her, I was left having to play host to Coach. As nervous as I was and as I fumbled with some gibberish to make conversation with Ray Meyer, the legendary DePaul coach, he was very calm, very composed and put me at ease.

The New York Knicks played the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. That did not stop Knicks coach Larry Brown from flying to Chicago to pay his respects at Ray Meyer's funeral. Brown, who went 1-2 against Meyer's DePaul teams when he coached at UCLA, was accompanied by former DePaul star Mark Aguirre, a Knicks assistant coach, and team President Isiah Thomas, a native Chicagoan. "This is no sacrifice," Brown said. "I'm glad I came." Thomas and Aguirre have shared many conversations about Meyer with Brown, who said he learned a lot from the former DePaul coach.

What he had wanted most of all these last few weeks, his last few weeks, was to make it to Indianapolis. Not exactly a fantasy destination for most, but it was the next-best thing to heaven for Ray Meyer, as was every Final Four he attended. And he really thought he was going to get to this one. "You've got to bust me out of here," he had said in all seriousness to Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul's athletic director. He had it all planned out. Sure, his doctors and devoted daughters Barbara and Pat were a bit concerned about the ramifications of a trip for a man with congestive heart failure and still recuperating from hip surgery.

Reciting a prayer from the altar of St. Vincent DePaul Church during the funeral for Ray Meyer, Rev. Dennis Holtschneider stumbled when he was supposed to invoke the name of Pope Benedict. "I looked out and almost said 'Pope Ray,' " Holtschneider, the president of DePaul University, later told the crowd. "I caught myself." That was the esteem with which Meyer was remembered in a touching 90-minute ceremony Tuesday in front of about 800 family members and friends that was more merry than maudlin.

Reciting a prayer from the altar of St. Vincent de Paul Church during the funeral for Ray Meyer, Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider stumbled when he was supposed to invoke the name of Pope Benedict. "I looked out and almost said `Pope Ray,"' Holtschneider, the president of DePaul University, later told the crowd. "I caught myself." That was the esteem with which Meyer was remembered in a touching 90-minute ceremony Tuesday in front of about 800 family members and friends that was more merry than maudlin.